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The Arkansas Referendum on the Health Care Independence Act of 2013 did not make the 2014 election ballot as a veto referendum in the state of Arkansas. The measure, which was sponsored by the group Arkansans Against Big Government, would have repealed the healthcare act, also known as the "private option," which was signed into law in April 2013 and uses federal money to fund health care for low-income residents. Gov. Mike Beebe (D) signed the private option into law as an alternative to expanding Medicaid.[1][2] The referendum can be read here.

Background

In Arkansas, the "private option" was approved by legislators, both Democrats and Republicans, as an alternative to expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Arkansas will receive money from the federal government that is meant to be put towards the expansion; instead, the funds will be used to purchase private insurance for approximately 250,000 low-income Arkansans.[2]

Support

The measure was sponsored by the group Arkansans Against Big Government, which was led by former congressional candidate Glenn Gallas.[1] Regarding the private option, Gallas said, "It's going to affect every citizen in every walk of life and I believe the people should have their voice in whether they want it or they don't want it." He believed that voters would reject the private option.[2]

On August 14, 2013, the head of Arkansas Against Big Government announced that the group did not have enough signatures to qualify the measure for the 2014 ballot, as they collected only 26,000 of the 46,880 required signatures.[4]